Forbidden Love, Forbidden Life
by Merope-Malfoy
Summary: One killing curse gone wrong. Two lives altered forever. The steps of a mermaid seeking revenge lead to Malfoy Manor. What will Lucius do to protect his family?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one—One heart split in two**

**_One kiss. One night. One love. One heart split in two. One curse that ends all of them but one. The heart still loves even if the kiss fades. The heart still longs for, even if the night doesn't bring much joy any more. The heart still stands...bleeding, but it stands even if love hurts. _**

_Valentines' day. He placed his warm hand on her breast and his head on her shoulder as they were spread across the double bed of the room they rented in Hog's Head. She could feel his heart still beating hard: thud, thud, thud; and her breathing was starting to gain its normal pace. The window in front of the bed let a small amount of Sun rays in the room, through the dusty, green curtains and they could still hear the wind outside whipping the buildings in Hogsmade with a swishing sound. _

_Lucius took his head off her shoulder and sat up abruptly at the side of the bed, holding his head in his hands. His shoulder length blond hair was not messy and his pale back was flawless, just like his face. His Slytherin robes were sprawled at his feet on the floor, next to a female form of Ravenclaw uniform with a Prefect budge on them. _

_"Lucius?" called a female voice from the bed. Lucius turned his head, to face her, but his eyes were no longer passionate, like the previous night. They were cold...and uncertain. "This will not go unnoticed." His voice was deep, smooth and cold and Eva felt the chill going down her spine. _

_"I know." She said trying to steady her voice. "But we could go somewhere after Hogwarts...just you and me and we can..."_

_"No." He said standing up and looking at her. Her eyes fell on his left arm that was tattooed with a skull and a sneak that was moving like liquid silver through its mouth. "No." He repeated and sat down again, head in his arms, blond hair falling over him like a curtain of silk._

_Eva went towards him and hugged his back. "You don't have to do this." She said kissing his head. "You can quit." She said innocently...but she knew better than anyone he can't quit if he cares about his life. _

_"I can't quit. I won't quit." Lucius pushed her away from him as he picked up his Slytherin robes and threw them on uncaringly. _

She ran through the Forbidden Forest hoping and praying to whatever ought to hear her that Lucius was okay. She found the owl on the Ravenclaw common room table, with a small note in its beak, black feathers shining in the dim candle light. It was late night and Eva did not know how much longer she could keep calm. The note was simple, in his royal handwriting, but containing what she feared the most: _"He has found out about us and wants to see me. Please stay safe. I love you."_

The air was chilly and it started to drizzle but Eva ran and ran to where the Death Eater meeting was located, hoping that Lucius was still alive. His last sentence was running through her head, perhaps giving her the energy to keep moving even if her feet were sore and many muscles were pulled from stamping too hard in the floor of the forest, trying to not let her anger reside in her.

Then she started seeing them. Black robes and white masks, looking terrifying and angry, but she didn't have time to fear for herself. Lucius was kneeling...on the floor, in the middle of a Death Eater circle, holding on to the soil and screaming his lungs out. His blonde hair was wet with the sweat that rolled off his forehead and his nose was bleeding.

Tom was above him...young and handsome but angrier than Eva ever saw him before. "Crucio!" he screamed and Lucius fell into a trance of shivering and screaming, wanting to pull every muscle off him ...anything as long as the pain stopped.

She couldn't take it any longer, so she stepped out of the dark shade of a tree, into the circle, screaming and kneeling beside Lucius who was looking at her with shock and anger behind his pain. "Stop it! LEAVE HIM ALONE! STOP IT! PLEASE!" she screamed looking at Tom, tears rolling down her face from her eyes. "Please."

"Well, well, well." Said Tom letting out an evil smile and taking the Cruciatus curse off Lucius. "If it isn't my lovely cousin. Hello Eva. Came to join the party?"

"He didn't do anything wrong. Leave him alone!" said Eva standing up and going towards her older cousin.

"You shouldn't have stood up...your place was down there, by my feet. You're worse than a muggle." He said spitting at her feet and looking down at her with superiority. "Crucio!"roared Tom and Lucius' body exploded in unbearable pain again, his muscles contracting so hard that they pulled and blocked and the pain only increased. He felt a thousand small knifes stabbing him in every part of his body and his eyes were screaming so much that Eva thought they were going to come out of his head.

"Stop it! PLEASE TOM! I'll do whatever you want, just please let him go! It wasn't his fault!" screamed Eva grabbing Tom's black robe. But Tom placed his hands on her wrists and threw her to the ground.

"You stop it if you want! COME, TAKE OUT YOUR WAND AND STOP ME!" shouted Tom, looking at her on the floor. "STAND UP AND USE YOUR WAND I SAID!"

Eva stood up and looked at Lucius, then at Tom and bowed her head. "I can't." She said in a quiet voice.

"What did you say?" he asked looking at her with an evil smirk.

"I can't." Repeated Eva looking at Lucius who was still fighting the curse. She started crying, softly, while the Death Eaters started laughing at her.

"That's right. You can't. You don't even have a wand. You're a squib!" he said and every Death Eater laughing.

_"Do it again! I love that!" she said while hugging Lucius and looking at his wand in amazement. The longing...the passion of possessing one was something she could not understand, even if she wished to have that magical quality more than anything._

_Lucius laughed and kissed her cheek lightly. "Aguamenti!" From the tip of his wand, a long line of silvery water came out and then separated in small droplets which placed themselves on Eva's long brown hair like pearls. "You look beautiful." Said Lucius kissing her lips with passion. She kissed him back and everything didn't matter any longer. She didn't care she was a squib...a disgrace to her Slytherin heritage...she didn't care of the danger she put herself in because she loved someone who was supposed to see her as an inferior being. For the magic that she did posses...something that her cousin didn't know the meaning of, was love. _

_"I love you." She whispered in his ear and he let out a small smile, and then kissed her again. She felt the edges of her hair go on fire and there was a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that made her forget about everything that wasn't right. "I love you too." He whispered and the sky was blue for Eva._

_"Lucius, would you wait!" said Eva angrily as he was walking along the corridors of the dungeons. It was a Saturday evening and they had just had a fight. Another fight. Since he came back from that Death Eater meeting, he changed. He was colder...angrier and most of all he was avoiding her. But she just wouldn't do this anymore. Eva wanted an explanation from him. One day he told her he loved her and the next he avoided her. _

_Eventually, she caught up with him and made him face her. "What's wrong?" she asked placing her hand on his cheek, but he threw her off him. "Just stay away from me!" he said in a hissing voice and walked into an empty classroom, slamming the door shut. _

_Eva followed him into the classroom and slammed the door as well. "Would you please care to explain?" she said in a cold voice, imitating his. Lucius was facing a window, his hands on his hips. He looked older than 18 and Eva felt a bit intimidated...but after all, they started dating a year ago and now they were fighting like an old couple married for years. _

_ "Just let me be!" hissed Lucius still not facing her. "We need to stop this. It's dangerous." Lucius turned to face her, with a grave face. _

_"He told you about me, didn't he? His disgraceful squib cousin. And if he would ever catch any of you with me...then you would lose your respect in his eyes. Is that what he said to you?" asked Eva moving towards him. "Well, let me say one thing. I don't care how much you worship him, but he will not dictate my life." Said Eva and Lucius could see the anger hidden well behind her brown eyes. He lowered his gaze, feeling ashamed. "So, do you think I am a disgrace too, then?"_

_A moment of silence followed. She turned her back on him, trying not to let the tears fall yet. She may have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but some of the Slytherin pride still resided in her veins. She was strong. When Lucius didn't do anything or say anything, she started going towards the door, but before she could open it, a strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into an angry kiss. The kiss turned more and more passionate until Eva was undoing his Slytherin robe and he was unbuttoning her shirt._

Tom took the Cruciatus Curse off Lucius and made him stand up. His eyes went deep into Eva's and she could see how angry he was at her for coming there...putting herself in danger sooner. He knew that after Tom killed him, he would kill her too, but he hoped it would be later rather than sooner.

"So tell me Lucius, what did you two think? A squib? Where is your respect?" asked Tom looking at Lucius with disgust in his eyes. "And you..." he then turned his eyes on Eva. "You little slut! You're lucky Dumbledore allowed you to come to Hogwarts...it's disgraceful. But I'll deal with you...with both of you." He started walking towards the Dark Lake, dragging Eva by her hair and the other Death Eaters dragging Lucius. One of them was Severus Snape who looked extremely uncomfortable and he seemed uncertain of what to do.

Her hair was screaming under Tom's strong hand, but she wasn't scared. She knew that if he found out, it would soon end...she just wished Lucius wouldn't have gotten involved with him. Maybe they would spare Lucius...her Lucius. The trees started becoming less dense as they were approaching the lake and she could smell the humidity in the air. The willow branches here and there seemed to cry for what was about to happen as the wind gave them voices when they embraced.

Tom threw Eva on the floor, at the banks of the lake and the cold water was soaking her tights and school skirt and Ravenclaw robe. Close to her, Lucius was thrown on the floor, and he was looking at her with fearful eyes. Eva tried to smile at him, perhaps for the last time with her eyes.

"Not him! He has to stand." Ordered Tom and Snape dragged Lucius to his feet. "I've been thinking, Lucius...because I am so merciful, I will forgive your foolishness." Said Tom moving towards Lucius and looking into his eyes. Then he looked at Eva and gave her a mean grin. "Stand up!" he ordered her. Eva hesitated, but then decided it would be best if she just obeyed. "But this will only happen if you kill her yourself. If you cannot do it, I shall kill both of you." Said Tom looking at Eva and stroking her cheek which became pale as a ghosts.

Lucius seemed translucent and statue like. He couldn't blink, he couldn't say anything. He was just staring at Eva with wide eyes that hid extreme grief.

_She was wearing a green dress, perhaps to emphasize that fact that Slytherin blood was running throw Ravenclaw flesh. Her brown hair was in a neat bun at the bottom of her head and she was wearing the snake earrings that Lucius gave her especially for the Christmas Ball. The silk dress was long and simple, but it was highlighting her long, slim legs and her small waist. Her skin was glowing in a particular way and her eyes were glowing with happiness. She was holding on to Lucius' arm who was wearing a black, sophisticated robe and who looked absolutely handsome. His eyes were greyer than ever and his long, blonde hair was fixed in a neat pony tail at the bottom of his head. _

_They danced and danced and danced and everyone's eyes were on the elegant couple, the school seniors. _

_"Lucius?" whispered Eva in his ear as they were dancing a slow dance. _

_"Hm?" said Lucius bringing her closer._

_"Can we go for a walk?"Lucius stopped dancing and he looked at her quite concerned. _

_"Is there something wrong?" He asked looking at her face which was paler than usual. _

_"I...don't know." She said looking down. _

_Lucius and Eva went out of the Great Hall and headed for the Quidditch Pitch where they sat down on a bench. "What's wrong?"_

_"I don't want you to leave me." She said looking into his eyes. _

_"What do you mean?" asked Lucius looking at her with raised eyebrows. _

_"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked not looking at him._

_"Tell you what?" asked Lucius, his eyebrows tensing._

_Eva took his left arm and lifted the robe up, revealing reddened skin and a Death Eater tattoo. He lowered his gaze and snatched his arm from her. "I had to."_

_"You had to or you wanted to?"asked Eva not looking at him. _

_There was a moment of silence from Lucius and then he said: "I was summoned by him a few days ago. There wasn't really a way out of it."_

_"I need you." Said Eva still not looking at him. "Don't you dare leave me for him." _

_"I won't leave you. Ever. We just have to be more careful." Said Lucius taking hold of her hand. _

She looked at the wand that was raised at her chest, as the tears were falling on her cheeks in streams. The wand was shaking and so was the hand. Eva tried not to focus on it too much...instead she looked in Lucius' eyes and tried to see beyond the horror of what he was about to do.

And then, all sound seemed to have vanished from the world, as a green light hit her right in the chest and she fell straight into the water...into deep water which swallowed her and filled her nose and her mouth and her ears. And she felt cold and scared.

The surroundings became darker and darker as she continued to sink further and further into the Dark Lake. She couldn't move and she wondered if this was the feeling of dying. But then something grabbed her legs and the feeling of some sharp nails stabbed them over and over again.

She felt her legs go really close together and the bones seemed to be destroying themselves with scrutinising pain. She felt something growing instead of two leg bones and the skin on her legs became smoother...as if she had fish skin.

He looked so much like his father, Draco did. Or that was what Eva thought as she stood on a rock by the shore of the Dark Lake looking at a bunch of Slytherins going towards Greenhouse number four. She tried to hide her mermaid tail behind, just so she can remember how it felt to walk and be lifted up and embraced or kissed. She missed her legs...almost as much as she missed Lucius.

Dumbledore had been quite kind, he visited her every week to tell her what went on and keep her company. She found it terribly surprising that he accepted Snape's apology and hired him as Potions master but she was so happy about Harry Potter. Maybe he will defeat Tom once and for all and then she will have her revenge as well.

Eva didn't know what happened the night she was supposed to have died. The mer people claimed they didn't know anything. Only Dumbledore seemed to know something, but he always changed the subject when she brought it about and he just gave her that loony smile of his saying that she will figure it out on her own.

She even saw Lucius a few days ago. She presumed he came to visit Draco, but he was with a tall and beautiful, blonde woman. Eva felt some sort of jealousy inside...she wondered if Lucius even knew that she was alive. Yet he looked so much older now. He looked angry and mean all the time...he was changed ever since he was forced to kill her. Eva didn't age one day since that night. She still looked the same even if she was a bit wiser than before and not as angry at the world as after she woke up with a mermaid tail.

But that day she realized something. After a curse, the heart can heal, even if it is split in two. It can heal because it has the capacity to love. One part of her heart belongs to Lucius Malfoy, the first man she loved and the first man who made her feel special. But the second part belonged to the mer man who was waiting for her in the depths of the Dark Lake and the little mer child that was growing in her womb. So Eva took one last look at the place where Draco...no, mini Lucius had stood and then disappeared in the depths of the lake.

From a window in the castle, Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling and his lips curved into a happy smile. And then he turned to an 11 year old boy with glasses and a scar on his forehead to explain to him how love can sometimes act as a shield for a killing curse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two—Love is dead**

**_The heart sends signals to the mind. Sometimes, it tells you to feel happy and fulfilled. Sometimes, it makes you feel a kind of pain that is worse than the Cruciatus Curse. You want to tear your skin apart, just to make it stop. And the worst thing is that it doesn't. It keeps going for years and years and years, until you finally give up and let it consume you with a sweet satisfaction, only the past knows of. _**

Lucius Malfoy was sitting in his personal study, staring absently at the warm flames in the fireplace. His skin was glowing in the dim light, only to be foreshadowed by some fine lines on his forehead and some crow feet around his eyes. He was still handsome...even now in his forties; the long blonde hair and silver, cold eyes made sure he always looks aristocratic and tall. Better than anyone else.

After so many years of being a loyal Death Eater to Lord Voldemort, he grew tired of people just sinking into dark corners whenever he walked the streets of Knockturn Alley. He grew tired of everyone fearing he might just take out his wand and curse them into pain. Even his wife, Narcissa sometimes avoided him after long, painful and emotion draining Death Eaters meetings, when all he wanted was some little affection. She had no idea what it was like to kill innocent people, just to make sure he doesn't kill your family. To see the tears in little children's eyes as he tortured their parents. He knew he was the last person on Earth to search for commiseration, even from his wife, but the mendacities he had to put up for Voldemort made him sick with guilt and self hatred sometimes.

And then there was Draco. His son. His boy. Draco only saw the outside Lucius Malfoy, and what was worse, he believed that his father's armour was something to pride himself with at school. Lucius had tried to explain to him on a number of occasions, why he acted the way he did in public, but it was all in vain. The boy was growing every minute of every day into that part of himself, he so bitterly hated. And now it was too late to change him. Soon the Dark Lord would summon Draco and turn him into his father. Such a waste.

Lucius closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if to wither away a painful memory. He wondered when his life had transformed into a painful existence. He was a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake. Wasn't that supposed to mean he would be successful in life? But was he a real Malfoy? He looked up at the painting of his father, Abraxas, above the chimney as the man scorned away in a huff. Nearly 25 years later, the old man was still angry at him for falling in love with a squib. With Eva. His eyes traced the outline of her name which had been imprinted in his mind for such a long time.

"Eva..." the name came out in a mere whisper from his lips, which shut close again as if he had just said an unforgivable curse. When was the last time he had said that name? In a way he hated her. She would never let him be...the memory of her so vividly in his mind...even at night when he would make love with his wife; it was her face he saw. Killing her had killed him. It was only an empty body that was left to wonder the world for the biological years he had left, for he had died with her that night.

He stood up abruptly from the armchair, his tall and strong silhouette making a long shadow on the opposite wall, as he drank his last bit of Firewhiskey. The taste was strong and slightly bitter, making the inside of his throat burn for a few seconds. He then ran one hand over his tired eyes, and stormed out of his study to wash away the newest blood on his hands. This one, had been a squib family, he had to kill. One of the kids had been 17...with dark hair and dark eyes. Like Eva Riddle.

Wizards are not the only people to possess magic qualities. Mer people have their magic too. They do not depend on objects to cast verbal spells. From a very young age they learn to control their minds in order to achieve what they desire. Eva Riddle was lying on the shore of the Dark Lake, half covered in mud. Her head was spinning and her legs were aching. She had one month to set it right, before she resumed her permanent place as a mer woman and gave birth to her first child.

The greatest and oldest Mer man in the Lake had give her human legs for one month, in order to settle any earthly businesses she had to settle. She could not bring into the sanctity of their Lake, a human problem. Only when she had confronted Lucius Malfoy with those things she held inside her for so many years, would her soul be free to start anew and accept the marriage proposal of the elder's son, Benjamin. But before that, she had to let go of her old life.

The wind was bitter that November morning as Eva stood up and placed an old, black cloak over her naked body. She had forgotten how coldness feels on human skin...her mermaid tail was much better with cold temperatures. But the determination to get over Lucius Malfoy once and for all was an incentive that no warmth can match. She knew what to do and she had to do it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, so you're saying it's my fault he is displeased?" snapped Narcissa as she stood up from her living room armchair and took a step towards Lucius.

"If you wouldn't have intervened in his conversation with Draco..."hissed Lucius taking a step closer to his wife.

"For Merlin's sake, Lucius, he is 11 years old!"

"I know that! Don't you think I know that?" The tone of his voice showed despair as if his wife somehow missed an important point he had made earlier on. "Do you think I want this for him?"

"I don't know what you want anymore." Said Narcissa turning towards the window and looking out into the pale moon. She loved Lucius. She loved him more than she ever loved anyone. But it hurt her so much to see that his own and main priority was pleasing Voldemort. But when he voluntarily held his son to be slaughtered, she had to say something. "Has it ever crossed your brilliant mind that maybe Draco is more important than what Voldemort wants?" said Narcissa turning to face her husband again.

"Listen to yourself!" snapped Lucius grabbing her upper arm. Narcissa looked scared for a moment, but then she lifted her chin upwards and said: "You take your hands off me!"

"You think I'm the one who doesn't care? You have no idea who we're dealing with...everything I've done was to keep Draco in the shadow...and then you come along saying I shouldn't obey him. He would kill us if I didn't obey!" snapped Lucius in her face, making her turn away her head to hide the tears. Lucius released her and she walked past him out of the room.

Lucius walked over to the bar and poured himself half a glass of Firewhiskey, then drank it all in one go and threw the glass against the wall. It fell to the floor in pieces, decorating the wooden floor with thousands of little crystals. He places one hand over his eyes and stood like that for a brief moment.

"Dad?"

Lucius looked towards his study, where the small figure of his 11 year old boy was half hiding behind the door. He tried to smile but his mouth turned more into a disapproving line, which made Draco look down. "I was wondering about that broom we discussed about..." said Draco trying to sound indifferent, yet Lucius knew how much he wanted that Nimbus 2001.

"Hmm." Was all he managed to say. "Go to bed, son. It's late." He said turning towards the window and looking at the clouds which were covering the moon.

"Dad?"

"Go to bed!" snapped Lucius looking at him in an angrier way.

"Okay. But...is mother okay? I think I saw her crying."

"She's fine. Now if I say "go to bed" one more time, Draco..."

"I'm going, I'm going!" said Draco huffing as he walked towards the door.

"Don't you give me that attitude, young man!"

Lucius looked as his son's shadow became smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared on the corridors of his big, yet cold mansion. He looked out the window again as the moon was coming out from the clouds. A lonesome howl echoed in the distance, as Lucius tried to get out of his disturbed mind the image of Voldemort's hand on his son's arm as he gave him the Death Eater Mark. He was only a child, for Merlin's sake. How was a mere 11 year old going to be of any use to someone like Tom Riddle? Narcissa protested openly...which displeased Voldemort so much, he casted the Cruciatus Curse on her. Her screams still echoed in his mind, making his bones want to shatter to pieces. And the worst part was that he could not do anything about it.

Suddenly, the trapped air in the room was too much for him to bear. He had to clear out his head, and feel the fresh air of the night playing through his hair. He wished he were free...like the wind; able to go anywhere he pleased.

Eva's bare feet were cold and muddy. Her whole body was shivering and her back was hurting. In the mere moon light, one may barely say she is 15...yet if you look at her face clearly, you can see a lot more wisdom in her eyes, as well as pain, hidden well at the back, so that no one can discover what her soul is hiding.

She walked along a narrow street, decorated with wide, framed windows and doors. Some of the shops were selling brooms...others were selling potions. She could remember the first time she went to Diagon Alley to get her first Transfiguration Manual...now it was a bit like Déjà Vu for her, only with different aims.

The wind was bitter as it styled her brown hair into a messy bundle. She was hungry and tired and she needed to rest. Although she wasn't too far ahead with the pregnancy, mer babies grew much faster than human children, and her belly was beginning to get that oval egg like shape. She didn't feel safe up on land any more. She kept looking over her shoulder to see if anyone would follow and curse her. There had been times in her teen years, when she wished, more than anything else to possess a wand and to be able to cast spells...now she wished she could be able to defend herself and her developing baby from Lucius Malfoy and the rest of the world.

She turned a corner into a wider street, lit with magical street lamps that became more illuminated as one approached. She stopped into the light for a moment, looking for the slightest increase in temperature, but it was still not enough to keep her warm. She desperately needed a place to spend the night in. Food was another necessity as well.

She hugged herself together tighter and started heading up the street that seemed to lead to a small hill. The lights ceased as she advanced further and the pale moon light took its place as a provision of light. There was something that changed inside of her...Lucius wasn't her universe any more...and she desperately wanted to get rid of what she held inside herm before starting a new life with Benjamin into the safety of the Dark Lake.

Eva was so bundled up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the tall frame of a man, as he was walking down the hill. Her eyes were cast on her pale feet, nearly blue with cold and before she knew it, she bumped into him and fell on the floor in one small movement.

"Oow!" she exclaimed and looked up at the blonde haired man. It was too dark for her to make out his features, but there was something extremely familiar about that long, blonde hair swishing in the chilly wind.

"Are you okay?" asked the man in a cold voice handing her a big, warm had to help her stand up. Eva wondered why that deep voice sounded so much like the voice which always told her what to do in her mind. She hesitantly took his hand as he pulled her to her feet effortlessly.

It was only when Eva looked at the stranger's face that she realised who he was. His silver eyes may be more severe and cold than before...his perfect skin may have some wrinkles on it, yet his charm was still there. His unmistakable aristocracy was still there. His happiness was long gone, but he was still her Lucius Malfoy.

It was the wind which cleared Eva's face of her messy hair, and when their eyes met, Lucius' hand dropped from hers, as he started at his dead lover trapped in a teenage body, right in front of him.

"Eva..." he said in a soft voice, which sounded more like swishing wind, rather than a man's voice. "But...how...?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three—The lost niece**

**I come to your door and you let me in, even though I am the ghost of your past seeking revenge. You are blinded by the way your heart made you feel all those years ago...blinded by the youth of my face, which is a constant reminder of what you did to me. You opened the door to your own defeat, knowing that I would not go until you pay. **

He was staring at the girl before him, wondering when he would wake up. But the wind blowing on his face was a tough reminder that this was not a dream...it was real. Eva wasn't a ghost coming back to haunt him for killing her. Eva was alive. She came back to him. She had forgiven him. His heart was feeling a sort of irrational joy that would make a Death Eater look like a Clown. He wanted to embrace her, for all the years they had lost due to Voldemort, but invisible ropes held him back from her.

"Eva..." he said again, this time holing his arm towards her cheek.

She moved away as if his touch had burned her. Only then did Lucius look at her empty feet, nearly blue with cold. She seemed smaller and more vulnerable than the last time he had seen her, all those years ago. The image of her falling in the Dark Lake gave him nightmares, only recently he managed to wither away.

"Talk to me...please...!" he said in a desperate voice.

"Hello, Lucius." She said in a cold voice, as he looked up at him.

"But...how is this possible?" he asked coming closer to her yet again.

She did not reply. She looked away and silence fell upon them for a few minutes before Lucius' gallantry came back to him. "You must be freezing!" he said and put his coat around her shoulders. She looked quite taken aback but didn't take it off. If she were not pregnant, she would have thrown it back to him. But her baby was more important than her pride, so she kept it on.

"Where are your shoes?" he asked, then reconsidered the question. "Never mind that...do you have anywhere to stay?"

"No."

"You better come with me then." He said, placing his arm over her slim shoulders as he started walking with her towards the Malfoy Manor.

"What makes you think I will come into your house, with you out of all people?" she asked in a cold voice, yet didn't protest as he opened the gates with his wand and took her inside his huge front garden.

"Because right now, I would be inclined to know what other alternatives you have." The self control he had over himself came back to him, and he would no longer show the monsoon that was happening inside.

Eva didn't say anything. The truth was, she didn't really mind being in his house with him. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? But his arm over her shoulder still sent the occasional chills down her spine and she wondered whether the mission she set herself to achieve would be harder than she believed it would be. The big question going through her head was: _"Do I still love him?"_

He led her down some stairs to what seemed to be the dungeons. She knew he would be too much of a coward to introduce her to his wife...she even wondered whether he told her about what happened in the Forbidden Forest all those years ago.

After turning a few more corners, he led her to a black wooden door, which he easily opened with the tip of his wand. It was so much warmer than the rest of the dungeon and she started feeling more comfortable. However, when he put some candles on, her heart skipped a beat. The room was beautiful. It was huge as well...a big double bed in the middle of the room, which reminded her of a King's bed.

Lucius walked in ahead of her and looked around the room for a moment or two. "You should be safe here." He said in a shaky voice, as if he still doubted whether this was real or not. "Eva...how..?" he asked and turned around to face her, one hand over his eyes as if the image of her was too much for him.

"It doesn't matter how, Lucius." She said coldly and walked towards him, holding her chin up.

"Of course it matters!" he hissed as if she was playing with his most sensitive feelings. "You think I haven't spent the past 25 years of my life looking back upon..."

"Killing me?" she asked and moved away from him. "What, you regret it? You make me sick!" she spat the words out with utter disgust as her face crumpled into a sheet of emotions. "Do you even know what love is? Haven't you spent the past 25 years killing innocent people because he asked you to? Haven't you Lucius? How dare you stand there and tell me you regret it, when you still kiss his dirty, bloody, murderous feet?"

"Eva...it's not like I have a choice, you know that!" said Lucius walking towards her.

Eva took a step back, but he managed to grab her arms and make her look at him."Don't accuse me! He would kill my family, my boy if I would turn away!"

"Get your dirty hands off me!" she hisses as she looked at him face through cold, brown orbs. Lucius let go and moved away from her. "How can you have survived the killing curse?"

"Ha! That's what you would care about, isn't it? You don't want your wife to find out about your little girlfriend you failed to murder. Or maybe you're ashamed that the spell didn't work...will he punish you Luce, if he found out I was alive? Will it be terrible to feel the Cruciatus on your skin over and over again?"

"STOP IT!" screamed Lucius, with agonising pain in his eyes. And slowly, the tears started rolling down his face as the woman he once loved so much was looking at him with unimaginable hate. "I'm sorry...you think there isn't a day that I don't regret it?"

"Regret...are you capable of feeling remorse and regret?" she slowly moved away from him towards the door, her cold feet making splash like noises on the rock floor. "Anyway, I won't stay here. It's nice of you to have offered though...were you going to cook breakfast as well?"

"Eva...don't go. It's cold out there..." Said Lucius trying not to make his voice "harder" in order to show her that he was the one in control. He was the one who had authority and she should listen to him—at least for the fact that she loved him unconditionally all those years ago. But Eva was more stubborn than the last time he had seen her. She was stronger than before and there was that light in her eyes that you would only see in someone who hates you with all their heart. Eva hated him and he didn't want it any other way. The little bit of humanity that was left in him was craving to be "punished" for all the things he had done as a Death Eater. "Stay at least until tomorrow. Have some rest and we can talk later." He said walking towards the door, holding his cane a little harder than necessary.

"There's nothing left to say, Luce. But I'll stay." She said avoiding looking at him, her eyes cast on her cold feet and then she placed her hands protectively over her belly as soon as Lucius nodded politely and went out of the room.

She lay down on the bead and the tears came out, conquering her cheeks in vast numbers. She hated him with all her heart, but there was something inside her that was craving for the time when she was just a human...when she was able to stroke his hair and beg him to stop tickling her or make him do a spell just so she can feel a little closer to the magic she did not possess. But things had to be done and she would do them. She needed to take revenge in order to go on with her own life...and she knew exactly how to do that by simply having observed Lucius talk about his family.

"...and then that stupid Potter boy climbed on it and caught the globe! Dad I can't defeat him with an old school broom!" said Draco, while playing with the tomatoes in his plate. The silver fork went though one of them and the sauce spilled through his entire plate, like a curse upon the other items.

"Draco, I will buy you that Nimbus 2001 before school starts. Now please don't bring this up at breakfast, for Merlin's sake! You've been talking about it continuously for weeks!" said Lucius giving his son an irritated glare.

Draco looked down at his plate, while Narcissa was looking angrily at Lucius. "Well at least he brings _something _up. You've been dead quiet for so long, Lucius. What in Merlin's name is going on?" she asked, putting her fork and knife down on her ceramic plate.

"Nothing is going on Narcissa!" snapped Lucius continuing with his breakfast.

Narcissa gave her husband a disapproving glare before picking up her knife and fork again and continuing with her breakfast. But she didn't spend long on that, before the shadow of a rather small figure made its way towards the dining room.

"Good morning!" said Eva making her way towards the main table, where Lucius eyebrows were so close together, that you couldn't say whether it was just one.

"How did you get in here? Who are you?" asked Narcissa looking rather frightened at the well dressed girl in front of her. "Are those my shoes?" asked Narcissa horror struck. Lucius closed his eyes for a moment as if he could just make the storm that was about to come, go away.

"Luce?" asked Eva with a small evil smile, looking at Lucius.

"_Luce_?" repeated Narcissa, directing her cold glare towards her husband who was now standing.

"This is...Eva...my...my nice. She arrived last night."

Eva's eyebrows raised in a questioning glare, then went back down, to play the game that Lucius started.

"Your niece?" Narcissa was looking at Eva with doubt. "I never knew you had a nice. And why is she wearing my shoes?"

"She was mugged on...on her way here." Said Lucius lamely. "They stole her wand as well."

"Mugged of her shoes...?" asked Draco, looking at the stranger in front of him questionably.

"Draco!" snapped Lucius.

"Sorry father."

"I hope it's okay if I stay here for a while...Luce said it was fine, but I don't think it would be fair if I didn't ask you as well."

"Yes...my husband seems to make most of the decisions around her. Do sit down." Said Narcissa politely, yet in a cold voice, not deceiving the fact that she was not pleased with this mysterious girl coming into their home.

Lucius sat back down, giving Eva murderous glares from across the table. His wife was angry and his son was just annoyingly inquiring. Eva was dressed in a green dress, probably stolen from his wife and re-adjusted to fit her, with small differences here and there. She looked much older than last night and her hair was up in a bun, revealing her long, pale neck, which he had kissed so many times before.

"So, Eva, when did you say you got here?" asked Narcissa picking up her fork again.

"Oh, Luce picked me up actually, form downtown. He said it was okay to spend the next six months here...you know, until the baby is born." Said Eva staring to eat as if she just made a mere comment about the rain.

"The baby?" asked Narcissa, putting down her fork yet once again.

"Yes...it's a girl." she looked at Lucius as soon as she said that, making sure the eye contact between them two was as clear as possible to Narcissa and Draco.

Lucius was looking at her with wide eyes, while the fork in his hand was starting to bend slightly. Narcissa looked at her husband, while her face became slightly red. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then gave Eva a small smile, with many different meanings.

They finished the rest of the breakfast in silence, not lifting their eyes from their well polished plates.

"Are you absolutely out of your mind?" Narcissa's face was inches away from Lucius' as her eyes were boiling with anger. "Who in the name of Merlin is she? And don't tell me she is your nice because I don't believe you!"

"Cissy...I...she is my niece. Twice or three times removed." Said Lucius, pouring himself a glass of Firewhiskey and drinking it in one go.

"If _he_ finds out...we are all doomed." Said Narcissa collapsing in her husband's leather armchair and placing her face in her hands. "Listen...I don't know when you met her or whatever...I know she's not your niece...she's not even a Malfoy...I just hope that's not your baby either!" she said and the tears she'd been struggling to keep in for a rather long time, were finally released.

Lucius knelt down in front of her and attempted to hug her slim and tired silhouette, but she snapped away from him and went out the door, slamming it shut.

"To be damned!" snapped Lucius and threw the glass of Firewhiskey against the chimney for yet another time that week. Then he sat down and resumed the position his wife had been sitting into.

From across the hallway, in a corner emerged by the shadows of the house, Eva's smile was growing wider. She knew that Narcissa was contemplating that the baby was her husbands' and that was exactly what she had aimed to achieve. But that was not all, for she was not ready to walk out of their door until she made Lucius feel the pain she felt that one time when he raised his wand to her chest and said those words. And then there was Draco...clearly the one person Lucius would do anything for. He was the next pray in line and she knew she didn't need a wand to make them suffer...words and looks could be much more poisonous.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four—Failure **

**_I came to hate you and I end up loving you—loving all that makes you. I point a gun at your chest yet I fail pull the trigger because my heart shan't let me. I want to tell you horrible words of how you made me feel one day long ago, yet when I open my mouth nothing comes out. You've silenced me. You cast your spell on me again and now I don't have the strength to make you suffer._**

Draco Malfoy was a rather intelligent little boy, despite his snobbish manner and selfish attitude. He knew right from the start that the girl who walked in at breakfast was not just his father's nice. She didn't even look like a Malfoy, and besides, why would his father not have mentioned her before? His mother seemed so angry and sad these days, that Draco actually wondered if this was something to do with the past that Lucius always avoided talking about.

The girl—Eva, was the most peculiar person Draco had ever met. She would sit down at dinner or lunch and just smirk at his mother until she couldn't stand it anymore and left the room. And she didn't even touch her food until it was cold on the plate. And she drank a lot of water. And she went on moonlight walks in the garden for hours. And when she came in, she seemed sad, but that was only when she thought no one was looking. But Draco was looking. Draco had been watching her ever since she interrupted their breakfast that day. He had been "on her case" since the first time he set eyes on her. She didn't seem to take much consideration of him, but Draco had seen a lot of things from the dark shadows on the house. He had seen his father crying in his study like a child when he thought no one was looking. He had seen his mother put on makeup every night, just to end up throwing away her perfumes and eye colours when Lucius didn't even look at her during dinner. He had seen Bellatrix Lestrange flirt with his father, as he merely gave her a cold look and went out of the room, leaving her smirking at his portrait. He had even seen Dobby caressing his father's arm one night when Lucius was crying again, only to be beaten up and thrown around the room by his angry father. But a girl as strange as Eva he had never seen before.

His father had acted strangely since she set foot in their house. He would sometimes look at her with longing in his eyes and sometimes he would look as if he wanted to murder her. At eleven years of age, Draco was quite frustrated because there were things in his life which did not make any sense, and the more he thought of them, the more confused he became. For example, poor Draco could not understand why mother and father were arguing so much when father came home after a Death Eater meeting. Wasn't he taught by his family that being of service to the Dark Lord was the biggest possible honour? Surely, being summoned by the Dark Lord himself and having him promise you that one day you will be one of his Death Eaters was the biggest moment of Draco's 11 years and five months of life; but what he could not understand was why mother would cry over it. But this girl...Eva...she didn't make much sense to Draco at all. He understood that she was pregnant, and he also understood that mother though she was pregnant with his father, but what he didn't understand was why father would do something like _that _with a girl who seemed only a few years older than himself. He loved his mother, didn't he? He acted careless at times, but he must love her—otherwise, why would he marry her? He even remembered kissing and caressing her face nearly every day when Draco was younger...love like that couldn't just go away, could it? It must be like the way his cheeks blushed when he saw Pansy Parkinson walking on the corridor at Hogwarts...and the sudden heart warming feeling when he touched her hand in Potions by accident—Draco couldn't imagine _that_ just going away. No...the more he thought about it, the clearer it started to become. Eva was the reason why his father had been acted so cruelly towards his mother, because he observed how father's facial expression changed within minutes in love then hate then love again. Expressions like that, Draco thought, should come in years, not minutes. You can't love someone for a minute and then hate them—that's impossible even for filthy muggles and wizards are far superior, especially pure bloods. No...the only conclusion young Draco Malfoy managed to achieve was that Lucius Malfoy, his father, had known Eva for far longer than he let on. And she was definitely not his nice. Draco set himself the hardest target he had ever set for himself—forget about bloody Potter and his broomstick...no this required far superior thinking—Draco had to find out who Eva really was and what she really wanted from his family.

Eva Riddle was not having a particularly good day. Her head was throbbing and her belly was getting bigger. The baby—the mer baby—was asking to go back in the Dark Lake, yet she was not finished in making Lucius suffer. Two more days should suffice, but now she was not so sure, her baby would allow her to stay two more days. Mer babies needed the presence of the Dark Lake waters to grow accordingly and healthy. She had been out of the Dark Lake for four days now, and despite the fact that her skin was getting extremely dry; her child was more and more agitated. Not even the drinking of salty water helped...nor the long salty baths. If she stayed too long, she risked of endangering her daughter's life, and she was not prepared to do that out of revenge. Revenge wasn't even like her...she was a peaceful creature—a peaceful squib/mer person.

Thinking about it in more depth...Eva was no longer so sure that revenge was the correct answer. Why not just forget about everything that happened between them? But she could not do that because despite the hatred towards Lucius, she still loved him. Loved him more intensely with each day she spent near him. And seeing his wife suffer gave her a sort of satisfaction that you only get when you make someone else jealous after having a relationship with your husband. But Lucius wasn't her husband. Lucius Malfoy, the powerful male dressed in aristocratic clothes and having more influence on people than if Merlin came about, was not her husband. He was a stranger. She knew the young Lucius...the child from all those years ago who made her feel special in a world full of wizards. And that Lucius did not exist anymore. That Lucius had died the day he had to kill her. Even the look in his eyes was different—she could not read what he was thinking. Everything about the new Lucius Malfoy was hidden behind a Death Eater mask that he did not manage to get rid of since the day he joined her cousin.

And could she really make a little boy suffer? She was going to have a child herself—was she ready for that? Could she call herself a good mother, or a good person if she destroyed the home of another child, deliberately, for a past romance between herself and his father when they were only kids? Was that a good enough reason to destroy all the source of support and love for Draco? She had seen his wondering eyes at the dinner table. She had seen how he looked at his father, longing for affection and love. Draco loved Lucius a lot. He loved him, perhaps more than Narcissa and he was trying with all his strength to be like him. But Lucius was blinded by his protection. He never complimented him—only stroke his face when he did something wrong. Eve had seen all of that in Draco's big, grey eyes and his shy manner around his father. And she felt sorry for him, because Lucius was capable of far more love than that. But by protecting his son from the Death Eaters and the outside world, he was protecting him from his love as well. And Draco needed love—not only from his mother, but from his father too.

"It's not mine, Narcissa." Said Lucius sitting on the other side of the King size bed from their matrimonial bedroom and taking off his shirt, then throwing it on a nearby chair.

Narcissa did not reply. She was sitting in bed, reading a book on how to control you magic and she planned not to talk to her husband, until she was sure that she would not burst out crying. Her eyes were reading the same sentence over and over again as Lucius' eyes were searching her face for any kind of emotion.

Lucius huffed and sat in bed, picking up a book bound in leather from the side desk. "When you are done ignoring me, I really like to know why you found it necessary to move all my shoes in the spare room."

"That's because—never mind." Said Narcissa reminding that she does not want to speak to him until she can control her emotions.

"Never mind...hmmm...I have to say Narcissa, that is a very helpful answer." Said Lucius sarcastically as he placed the book back on the table and looked at Narcissa more intensely. "It's not my baby."

"Good night, Lucius." Said Narcissa, but before she could place the book on the floor, Lucius snapped it out of her hand and threw it on his side table. She gave him a murderous glare, but he grabbed her upper arms and kissed her in a way he had not kissed her for a long time. When their mouths separated, he whispered in her year: "Believe me, it's not my baby."

Narcissa's eyes softened for a minute under his icy, warm glare and her nails were no longer stabbing his flesh...they were caressing his strong arms which held her in place in a strong grip. And then she kissed him again, their tongues meeting in a passionate waltz, unmindful of whatever past he might have had.

"I have to say though...you were right about one thing."

"Which was?" demanded Narcissa while unbuttoning his blouse.

"She's not my nice." Said Lucius, moving his hand over her leg.

Narcissa's hands stopped on the last button, yet Lucius never took his eyes off her face. "I thought she was dead...I have no idea how she came back."

"You're not making any sense." Said Narcissa attempting to sit up, but Lucius' arms held her trapped under him.

"I know her from Hogwarts." He said closing his eyes for a moment. "It was when I joined the Death Eaters...we were 18."

"But she looks...like 17 the most." Protested Narcissa, not sure whether she should believe Lucius or not. But there was a kind of look in his eyes, a pained look, which made her almost sure that he was telling the truth. "What happened?"

"She's a squib and we dated. Her last name is Riddle."

"Oh Merlin—"

"When he found out her ordered me to kill her. I killed her. She's alive and pregnant. I have no idea what happened or how she survived." Said Lucius and this time let Narcissa sit up from under him. "But I know she cannot be pregnant with me."

Narcissa was silent for a while, looking at her husband with serious eyes. "You killed her?"

Lucius did not reply for a moment. "I regretted it since the moment I cast the spell on her."

"But—"

"I was young and stupid. And she's here for revenge. She's not capable of hurting us physically, I know she is not, but she is angry and hurt. I think that her mental level is frozen on eighteen years of age—I don't know what happened that night after she fell in the Dark Lake, but she still looks the same as then."

"Oh Merlin...Lucius...why did you never mention this before?"

"I thought she was dead."

"You _thought _she was dead."

"Don't look at me like that. What would have been the point?"

"You married me and you never mentioned that you dated the Dark Lord's cousin. Lucius...that's just too much." She placed her head in her hand and no one said a word for minutes, which seemed like centuries to both of them. "Do you love her?"

"Wha—Cissy, wait..."

"It's a simple question, Lucius. Do—you—love her?" asked Narcissa and just like that the honey in her voice turned into sour lemon juice.

"No. I don't know her. She's changed. Cissy, you know you're the only one I love." Said Lucius watching as Narcissa's eyes softened yet again, under his glare.

"I know that. But I want her out of the house before she can hurt Draco."

"She won't hurt Draco. She's pregnant and she—she won't hurt Draco." Said Lucius trying to make his voice sound more certain that he felt.

"But you said that she is not the same any more. How can you be so sure?"

"She's a squib."

"A squib who survived the killing curse! Look...I just want her out." Said Narcissa in a determined voice.

"I will make her go." Said Lucius looking at his wife. How could he have not seen how much Narcissa really means to him? He was angry—angry with himself for staying entangled into a romance from when he was just a child. Before he alienated himself from Cissy, she had been the one to stay with him until the early hours of the morning to wipe his forehead with a cold cloth and pray that the after effects of the Cruciatus curse would just go away. And they did because of her. His muscles used to relax under her touch and just like that he wasn't shaking any more. And wasn't she the woman who bore him a child? He had seen how Draco grew inside of her and every day he would love her—them—more and more. When did that hide so deep inside of him that he couldn't find it? He had never shared a moment like that with Eva, yet her presence there seemed to disturb everything that he loved. Sure, he killed her, and sure she was right to want revenge, but he would do anything in his power to protect his family, even if it was not just. If he had to kill her again and be a mean Death Eater—a title which he'd been running from for a long time, yet it seemed to catch up with him—he would do it for them. "I will make her go." He said again and Narcissa came closer to him. She placed her hands on his face and kissed him, yet again. "I know you will."

"You still didn't answer my question." Said Lucius as Narcissa clicked her fingers and all the candles went off. She was arranging her pillow for a good night's sleep and looked at Lucius as his eyes glowed in the moon light. "What question?" she asked confused.

"My shoes. Why did you move them in the guest room?"

Narcissa's lips curved into a smile. "Because I ordered Dobby to clean them all and I don't want him to come here tomorrow morning."

"I see." Said Lucius.

"Ha! You thought I was throwing you out!" laughed Narcissa as she laid her head on his chest.

"I did not." Replied Lucius in a deep voice. "Good night, love."

A deep silence fell on them as Narcissa was listening to the rhythm of his heart. In a way, she thanked the girl in their house, because she had awakened something in her husband that had been asleep for a long time. She knew he was not lying, because she could see it in his eyes. Lucius Malfoy—her husband still loved her, despite the doubt from a few years back. He had been deeply wounded by her death and his involvement with the Dark Lord that he shut down everyone who loved him. But now, through Eva, he let her back in, and Narcissa would do everything in her power not to be chucked out again.

"Luce?"

"Hmm?"

"I want a baby."

"What?"

"I want a baby. I have thought about it for months...I want a baby. We have a son, I want a daughter too."

"Now?"

Narcissa let out a small laugh and lifted her head off her husband's chest. "Now."

"I have imagined myself with a daughter too. As long as she does not inherit your deranged sister."

"Don't be abominable! Bella is lovely!"

"Yes...when she doesn't torment people."

"I mean it! Bella would be hurt to hear you talk like this." Said Narcissa mockingly, yet truth to be told she did not want her daughter to take after Bella either.

"I am sure she would be distraught. I, on the other hand...would be terribly sad if we think about Bella when we are on the verge of making a baby." He sat up and trapped Narcissa underneath him, with his strong hands, and for the second time that night, she started unbuttoning his shirt.

Lucius was in a good mood the following morning, as he thought back to the moments he spent with his wife the previous night. He had woken up at precisely 6:00 am, dressed in his home robes and went in search for some coffee, as his Cissy was still sleeping, her pale back marking shadows on the silk bed sheets in the morning sunlight. That precisely same back he had kissed a few hours before, marking it with his lips as she ran her hands through his hair.

He reached the kitchen and searched for the little jar with coffee imported from Brazil, everywhere, yet it was nowhere to be found. And then he remembered that he was a highly skilled wizard, in charge of a dozen house elves, so he snapped his fingers and just like that, Dobby popped into the room, with a submissive bow.

"How can Dobby be of assistance, master Malfoy?" Lucius snorted—surprisingly, the little squeaky voice was not bothering him. On the contrary, he seemed to find the little creature rather pleasant.

"Coffee, Dobby. I need coffee. Bring it in my office—and don't take too long." His own voice surprised him, for it held a sort of kindness that he did not hear in a long time. A very long time.

"Certainly master Malfoy." Said Dobby with another low bow.

Lucius took another brief look at the tiny creature and was even about to say "thank you", but he thought better of it. That would just be too much—he was after all, Lucius Malfoy, feared Death Eater and extremely cruel person. He had to maintain that title for the safety of his wife and son...and maybe, soon, even a daughter. He walked out of the kitchen, where Dobby was snapping his fingers and cups were floating in the air uninterrupted, and headed for his study—for the first time in a very long time, the study was only a study and not a sanctuary from his wife and the outside world.

But as he walked past the drawing room, the sound of murmuring voices reaching his ears intrigued him—no, not intrigued, angered him—for Eva and Draco were sitting at the wooden table, looking very serious. He hid behind the shadow of the door and looked at his son's back as it stood very serious, listening to whatever Eva was saying. Lucius wished he could have taken his wand with him, for they were too far away for him to hear what they were saying. Actually, the more Lucius thought about it, the less he liked it—for all he knew, Eva could be telling his son the murdered he had been when taking her life away from her to save his own skin. A murdered and a coward. Lucius' nerves were rising in an alacritous way as his thoughts drifted to what Draco might think of him after he found out—of the accusing words he would say and most of all, Lucius' feelings were boiling with anger at Eva for making the relationship between him and his son take the path towards deterioration.

He watched from the shadow as Eva was stroking his son's hair and smiling at him in a way which made him wonder how much she must hate him. Draco's shoulders relaxed and then contracted, as his head went down...was he crying? Besides him was his untouched toast and jam, which Eva pushed away from him as she lifted his head with the tip of her finger—the same smile appeared on her face which sent chills down Lucius' spine.

And then she looked at him, her brown eyes seeming deep and hurt—not hateful, but hurt. He had hurt her in a way that cannot be healed...he marked her with his love which transformed fatal. It was only then that Lucius realized that Eva was dead. He had killed her that night and that was all, for the woman poisoning his son's mind was not the Eva he knew. The Eva he knew was too good to cause any harm, especially to a child. The Eva he knew head been able to smile with joy, yet when this woman smiled it was with hate and satisfaction for making someone else suffer. Those new eyes were staring at him, as she slowly stood up, patted Draco on the back and came towards the door, where Lucius was standing, hurt and angry. She looked up at him for a brief second, then her eyes lost the shine in them and she looked down, as if physically hurt by his cold stare. And she did not stop...she walked past him as if he was invisible. He was invisible...she had made sure of that, because Eva realised a long time ago that by hurting everyone he loved, she would cause Lucius pain. Pain that was worse than the Cruciatus curse.

"Wait a minute!" hissed Lucius, but Eva continued walking past him, towards the main door. He hurried after her, and once they were outside, she started waking faster and faster. It was a chilly winter morning, and everything was under a thin layer of ice, as if death had placed a hand on it. As if the nature had been preserved under a layer of frozen water, keeping its youth and colours until the ice would melt away, leaving summer in want of revenge, as the sun's rays would warm up the ground.

"I said WAIT!" shouted Lucius getting angrier by the minute, yet Eva acted more or less as if he was an annoying fly buzzing in her ear.

"He's just a boy!" hissed Lucius as he was getting closer to her. "Why would you feel like he had to know about us?" the acrimony in his voice was growing as his face was getting slightly red. He didn't care if he was hated by people as long as he was feared as well...but what he did hate was ignorance. He could not stand people ignoring him, especially people who owned him an explanation of some sort. His arm reached out and caught Eva's slim wrist—turning her to face him in a swift movement. He looked at her. She looked terrible and for a moment his grip softened on her arm, but remembering Draco, he tightened it again—trying to see past the heavy bags under her eyes, the slightly yellow and dry looking tone of her skin and the much advanced pregnancy, acting like a border between them.

She did not look at him...she didn't want those angry grey eyes on her. Her job at Malfoy Manor had been completed, and now it was time for her to return into the Dark Lake before her daughter's health was fatally deteriorated. Lucius' warm grip on her cold wrist was a reminder to her of how warm he used to make her feel when he would kiss her back or run is hands through her hair. Of course, those days were over and now Narcissa was his love...she knew that simply by looking at Draco.

"Why did you tell him?" he asked in a softer voice, when her eyes refused to meet his. But Eva did not say anything...not this time. She just looked up at him, with soft brown eyes and just like that Lucius' grip on her arm softened. She stood up on her toes and their lips met for a last time, softly and swiftly as wind passing. And then she moved away from him, away into the sea of trees, coated in a thin ice layer. Lucius did not go after her...he was done with chasing the past, even thought, this time it was the past chasing him. He took a last look at where Eva had been trying to recapitulate the image of her in his head, because he knew that this time she was gone for good. And he was fine with that...despite telling Draco horrible things, Eva opened his eyes at how much he loved Narcissa and his son. So he went back to the house, leaving the memory of Eva and their relationship far behind. It was time to focus on the present.

Draco was waiting in Lucius study, together with the cold coffee that Dobby provided for him. He was still in his pyjamas and he was hopping for one foot to another because it was cold and he did not have his wand with him to turn on the chimney fire. When his father came in, his eyes widened at the seriousness on his face and even more questions popped into his child mind.

"Draco." Said Lucius and Draco's eyes widened even more because by the look of his father's face he feared he might be told of for talking with Eva. But the words that came out were calm and even kind. His father never spoke to him like that and he wondered what might have happened.

"Is Eva gone?"asked Draco in a daring voice.

"Yes." He said as he sat down behind his mahogany desk.

"But I thought she was going to stay until your great cousin in back from Romania." Said Draco puzzled.

"She had to—_what_ did you say?" asked Lucius, his eyebrows tensing.

"She told me she is going to go when her great-great uncle Morpheus Malfoy is back. She said he sent you a letter asking you to take care of her while he's hunting for Dragon blood."

"What else did she say to you, son?" asked Lucius starting to understand.

"Nothing...she just said that she was glad to have finally met her little cousin and that was about all."

Lucius did not replay as an irrational joy overwhelmed him. Draco did not know and Draco did not hate him. And Draco was heading towards the door with a rather sad expression on his face, because his father drifted into his own thoughts, probably not knowingly looking at him with a disapproving glare.

"Draco?" His son turned around and looked at his father as if he was about to be told off, but when Lucius' motioned him towards him, his eyes widened and his legs took him forward. And just like that, the tears started welling up in his eyes as Lucius caught him in a hug he had not given his son in too long.

Eva was still a mystery for Draco, even if he had decided to find out about her. He solved the mystery of her existence, or so he thought, by becoming certain that she was truly related to the Malfoys. Eva had made sure that Draco believed her little lie, just so he does not get hurt by his father's past. But Draco was utterly confused by the change she had produced within his father. Where were all the slaps across his face when he did something wrong? Could they have been replaced by hugs like this one? Where were all the disapproving glare and snapping name calling? Why was his father hugging him like that? Draco knew he could not answer those entire questions...to be more honest, he was not even sure he wanted to find out the answer. But he knew he loved the change in Lucius. He loved the fact that he was allowed to show his weaknesses for once, but most of all he was happy that he was allowed to show his desire for love towards the most influential person in his life.

"Now, young man...what have I taught you about the Malfoys?" asked Lucius in a mimicking disapproving voice, while breaking the hug.

"A Malfoy never cries." Said Draco while wiping away his tears with his shelve.

"Exactly." Said Lucius while standing up. "Now...what did we discuss about that broom you wanted?"

Draco's face lit up into a smile, but then he remembered about the way his father taught him to show his emotions so he tried to hide his overwhelming happiness behind a curtain of simple pleasantry. Finally, he would defeat that Potter prat!

**_Live your life, Lucius Malfoy...live it for your wife and for Draco. And I will live mine for my daughter and husband. After all, we must not linger on a past long forgotten, but look towards a brighter future. I loved you, Lucius Malfoy, but now the time has come for me to love again and with this thought I shall leave you to live your life. _**


End file.
